There's something about Rahul Dravid that has always made me feel he's akin to Samwise Gamgee (Frodo Baggins' trusted friend in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings). In his willingness to give it his all for a bigger cause. In his determination to take his team all the way. In his doggedness to not be diverted by anything else until the task at hand is completed. In his firmness of purpose.

For me, Sam was the biggest hero of them all; wiser than Gandalf the Grey, more courageous than Aragorn, stronger than Legolas and Gimli and more determined than Frodo, and yet, at the end his efforts are all overshadowed. Gandalf the Grey becomes Gandlaf the White, Aragorn in named King of Gondor, Legolas and Gimli find great friends in each other and Frodo gets to go to the Undying Lands with the Elves. Sam goes back home to his wife and kids... Much like Dravid did yesterday, after nearly 16 years of indefatigable tenacity to make India punch above their weight.

"Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee, and I don't mean to."

Rahul Dravid and giving up do not usually go in the same sentence and there can be no better example than the performance against England this season. When the rest of India had given up hopes of saving face it was Dravid who stood tall to defy a rampaging England team; ball after ball, hour after hour, knock after knock, match after match. In an otherwise disastrous tour the former RCB skipper gave the beleaguered Indians much to cheer about.

Dravid has often been the one player still fighting it out when everyone else, including the fan, have thrown in the towel. No one would've blamed Dravid for not continuing to fight in a losing cause, no one would've pointed a finger at him had he been dismissed playing a rash shot when the team was 6 down for hardly any runs - but that was not how Dravid fought. Dravid hung on - smothered the spin, suppressed the pace, exhausted the bowlers, but Dravid hung on.

"There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for!"

Every time Rahul Dravid took the crease it was as if the Indian batting stalwart was waging a great, never-ending struggle against the dark powers to extirpate all evil. And a victory against the dark powers never comes easy. Dravid and the struggle go hand in hand as so beautifully explained by Sidvee in a blogpost here.

Nothing comes easy for Dravid, each shot comes after a painstaking evaluation of the risk involved. He wasn't blessed with great timing, athleticism, strength or hand-eye co-ordination that the others posses. His technique and perseverance were his greatest strengths and he used them, time and again, to help India stay afloat and even triumph.

"Let him go, or I'll have you long-shanks!"

Rahul Dravid has been one of .. scratch that.. Rahul Dravid has been the best Indian player when it comes to playing abroad, especially on fast bouncy tracks. The fact that his average abroad is higher than his average on home tracks speaks volumes about his ability.

Dravid has often been India's go-to man when the rest of the order have crumbled like a used supermarket receipt, but the legendary right hander has rescued the team more often than not. Against towering fast bowlers, against vicious spinners, against super quick pacers, against innocuous medium pacers who trouble even the best - Dravid has defied them all over the years.

Adelaide 2003, Rawalpindi 2004, England last year. Over the years, Dravid has defied some of the giants. Dravid's motto on the field, especially when the odds are stacked against his team, has been to Fight long and Fight hard.

"Don't go where I can't follow"

Being a fan is like a long exercise in anxiousness. You only get to watch your idol, but not do anything to affect that moment. You wait, pray and do a hundred things that you hope will influence his/her decision, but to no avail.

It is ironical that we will now only see one of the greatest Test players ply his trade in the slam-bang IPL tournament henceforth. It will be extremely hard to comfort oneself seeing someone else, other than Dravid, walk in with India at 3 for 1 but like they say all good things have to come to an end.